Well, who would have thought that Jackers would one day become a blogging tweeter or, if you prefer, a tweeting blogger!! I left Cape Town at 20h10 on Sunday evening on BA 0058 en route to Antigua via Heathrow and Gatwick.

To begin with all went according to plan. A timeous take off from Cape town International, dinner on board with some fine wine, a couple of movies, a little bit of sleep and “hey presto” we were touching down at London Heathrow at 06h30 on Monday morning. The captain announced somewhat triumphantly how lucky we were to actually be in London because of the volcanic ash that had threatened all European airports throughout the previous day and the night.

The simple task of collecting ones bag, buying a bus ticket (I am sure BA used to provide this as a service) and transferring to Gatwick was easily overcome during which time I bumped into Andrew Hudson and Lonwabo Tsotsobe or “Lopsy” as he is affectionately known by his team mates.

On arrival at Gatwick Airport North terminal we were told that we could not check in on our onward flight to Antigua because it had not been confirmed that we had an aeroplane on which to travel. Having scrambled around for two Great Britain Pounds, we were able to uncouple two trolleys that formed part of a great line that were chained together at the trolley collection point. Andrew took on the task of collecting the trolleys whilst my tour guide experience of many years kicked in and drove me to information desks and the like in order to find out what was going on. It wasn’t long before the news that our flight to Antigua had been cancelled, boomed out over the public address system.

I volunteered to take on the task of finding out what BA had in mind for us as an alternative. Twenty minutes later I returned triumphantly with bookings for the three of us on the corresponding flight the next day and three vouchers for the Hilton Hotel close by at Gatwick Airport South terminal. This involved another bus ride taking into account that in turn, it also meant the release of and re-purchase of two more trolleys. I only had a small bag that I was able to wheel along with ease whilst my two new found travelling companions had all Lopsy’s kit plus another bag for AB de Villiers and extra kit for other players already in the Caribbean. It amused therefore, that on arrival at The Hilton which was a short walk through the car park of South terminal, the two of them kept their trolleys in their rooms all night for fear of not being able to secure one in the morning.

Lopsy went to bed and slept for an amazing 17 straight hours whilst Andrew and I enjoyed a couple of beers over lunch, an afternoon of rest and a couple more over dinner discussing his new role as convenor of selection which he officially undertakes on June 1st.

The dawn brought the good news that our flight would leave on time and all that was necessary was to walk back to the pick-up point and transfer by bus to Gatwick Airport North terminal. A case of discarding two trolleys and re-purchasing two more on arrival. Imagine my surprise when almost 24 hours after I had given Andrew the two quid, he returned it to me. I did not realise that when you returned your trolley to the chain of them described earlier, you got your money back! Clever the Brits, as this ensures that trolleys get returned to their collection points and aren’t strewn all over the airports.

So, 24 hours later than anticipated we landed safely in Antigua and parted ways to our respective hotels, they to Jolly Beach and me to Halcyon Cove. Today the tour starts with the first of two back to back T20 matches and after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign I hope to be able to report favourably with my comments.